Summary posted by John McBride Security in the News: The Man Who Hacked Hollywood
Article written by David Kushner
GQ Magazine
May 2012
“For years, he had stealthily broken into the e-mail accounts of the biggest players in Hollywood.”It started some years ago. Chris Chaney was thirty-three years old and unemployed. He was a loner type who liked completing cross-word puzzles. One day he decided that he wanted to find out how celebrity photo’s and secrets were being leaked to the mainstream media. He wanted to know, “How hard could this be if it's happening all the time?'”
Chaney didn’t have any of the technical computer knowledge that the public generally expects from a successful computer hacker. In fact, he had never even written any computer code. He began by typing celebrity names into the gmail logon fields and guessing both passwords and the answers to security questions. Within a few days, he broke through to his first celebrity e-mail account. He was hooked. It only ended when the Feds finally tracked him to his door step and seized his computer. Later he would be arrested on formal crimes.
According to this article, Chaney never directly profited from his computer hacking. He saved their pictures and e-mails and was privy to the personal goings on of celebrities and information concerning Hollywood movie productions. But he never directly sold his secrets or the photo’s he obtained. His downfall came when he shared photo’s with other hackers. It was simply to gain their approval; or to prove that he was a competent hacker. When he was finally caught, Chaney became as famous as some of his victims.
“Chaney eventually pleaded guilty to nine counts, including unauthorized access to a computer and wiretapping, and faces sixty years in prison and $2.25 million in fines.” When all was said and done, he had gained access to the e-mail accounts of more than fifty celebrities. “Wes Hsu, chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office, was amazed at the breadth and depth of Chaney's infiltration. “I've been doing this for more than a decade, and it's the first time I've seen this,” he said.”
The lesson to be learned by this example is that even a hacker with zero or little technical computer skills posed a threat to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of communications stored and shared in the personal e-mail accounts of more than fifty film and television entertainers and others who work in those industries. The question remains. How can Hollywood keep its e-mail communications secure?
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Security in the News:
The Man Who Hacked Hollywood
Article written by David Kushner
GQ Magazine
May 2012
“For years, he had stealthily broken into the e-mail accounts of the biggest players in Hollywood.”It started some years ago. Chris Chaney was thirty-three years old and unemployed. He was a loner type who liked completing cross-word puzzles. One day he decided that he wanted to find out how celebrity photo’s and secrets were being leaked to the mainstream media. He wanted to know, “How hard could this be if it's happening all the time?'”
Chaney didn’t have any of the technical computer knowledge that the public generally expects from a successful computer hacker. In fact, he had never even written any computer code. He began by typing celebrity names into the gmail logon fields and guessing both passwords and the answers to security questions. Within a few days, he broke through to his first celebrity e-mail account. He was hooked. It only ended when the Feds finally tracked him to his door step and seized his computer. Later he would be arrested on formal crimes.
According to this article, Chaney never directly profited from his computer hacking. He saved their pictures and e-mails and was privy to the personal goings on of celebrities and information concerning Hollywood movie productions. But he never directly sold his secrets or the photo’s he obtained. His downfall came when he shared photo’s with other hackers. It was simply to gain their approval; or to prove that he was a competent hacker. When he was finally caught, Chaney became as famous as some of his victims.
“Chaney eventually pleaded guilty to nine counts, including unauthorized access to a computer and wiretapping, and faces sixty years in prison and $2.25 million in fines.” When all was said and done, he had gained access to the e-mail accounts of more than fifty celebrities. “Wes Hsu, chief of the Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office, was amazed at the breadth and depth of Chaney's infiltration. “I've been doing this for more than a decade, and it's the first time I've seen this,” he said.”
The lesson to be learned by this example is that even a hacker with zero or little technical computer skills posed a threat to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of communications stored and shared in the personal e-mail accounts of more than fifty film and television entertainers and others who work in those industries. The question remains. How can Hollywood keep its e-mail communications secure?
32/40